Solitaire

How to Play Solitaire

The aim of Klondike Solitaire is simple... you need to arrange all of the cards into the four empty foundation piles, or "goals". Each goal can only hold one suit, and you must put the cards in the following order: Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen and King. Complete all four piles, and you've won.

Simply click and drag a card across, then place it on a compatible pile. If you try to drag an incompatible card, it'll automatically ping back to its original position.

Solitaire Setup

There are four basic elements in the game. Let's go through each one:

• Foundation piles: These are at the core of the game. Remember, to win you'll need to fill up each of these, which correspond to one of the four suits: hearts, spades, clubs and diamonds. You'll start each pile with an Ace, then add cards in ascending order with the aim of creating a "family".
• Tableau: This is the playing area, made up of seven columns. You'll move cards between these columns to uncover the face-down cards beneath them.
• Stock pile: Once the cards have been dealt in the playing area, the remaining cards form the stock pile. You'll draw from these as you play.
• Talon pile: Also called the waste pile, this is where cards drawn from the stock pile go. The top card is available to play onto a compatible tableau column or foundation pile.

If you're after a closer look at where everything goes, make sure you check out our step-by-step guide to setting up Klondike Solitaire. It takes you through each part of the playing area, and shows you how to set up a game with a deck of cards.

Solitaire Rules

Sound easy? There are a few rules to keep in mind when you're playing Klondike Solitaire. Let's take a quick look through them.

Tableau Rules

• The cards in the tableau need to be arranged in alternating colours and descending order - for example, a red 8 on a black 9.
• You can move face-up cards between columns, as long as they match those rules. You can also move a sequence of cards if it follows the same pattern.
• Moving cards can help you uncover the face-down cards beneath them, giving you more options to play.
• Only Kings, or sequences starting with a King, can be placed in empty spaces on the tableau.

Stock Pile

You'll need to draw cards from the stock pile to help you make moves on the tableau and create "families" in the foundation piles. Once the stock pile is exhausted, you can turn it over to reuse the remaining waste cards.

Foundation Piles

Start with an Ace and build up in ascending order by suit. So, if you've placed the Ace of hearts, you'll need the 2 of hearts next, followed by the 3, and so on until you reach the King. By the end, you want four complete foundation piles, one per suit.

Know the rules but finding yourself running out of moves? Choosing which cards to uncover, and when to leave space for a King, can make a difference. If you're after more specific tips on how to win, check out our 15 Klondike Solitaire strategies for a closer look at planning your next move.

Solitaire variants - Draw 1 versus Draw 3

In this FRVR version of Solitaire, we give you two options: Draw 1 and Draw 3 Solitaire. The former is easier, and involves you drawing one card at a time. The latter, as you probably guessed, involves drawing three cards from the stock pile. The objective remains the same - build up four foundation piles of card "families".

Solitaire Draw 1 tutorial

Clicking the stock pile reveals one card. If that card fits on the tableau or one of your foundation piles, simply click and drag it across. Keep uncovering cards and building up your foundations as you play. If you're new to Solitaire, we'd recommend starting off with Draw 1.

Want to see the moves in action? You can watch our Solitaire Draw 1 video tutorial for a walkthrough of how to play.

Solitaire Draw 3 tutorial

The rules of the game remain the same; however, you'll draw three cards at a time. Clicking the stock pile reveals three cards, but you'll only be able to move the top-most card in the preview. Once you've played it, the next card beneath it becomes available.

If you're a seasoned Klondike player and fancy more of a challenge, give Draw 3 a go. Our Solitaire Draw 3 video tutorial shows you how the three-card draw works.

Enjoying both modes and fancy trying something different? Draw 1 and Draw 3 are two ways to play Klondike, but there's a whole family of Solitaire games with different layouts and rules. Our guide to Solitaire variants takes you through versions such as Spider, FreeCell and Pyramid, explaining how each one works so you can find your next challenge.

More help with Solitaire

Still have a few questions before your next game? Perhaps you're wondering whether every deal can be won, or how much comes down to luck. Head over to our Solitaire FAQ for answers to common questions about the game.